Liquid Sachets for Marathon Gels & Liposomal Packs: A Guide

A liquid sachet could be one of your highest-performing SKUs: they’re portable, feel premium, and fit the marathon running market like a glove.

But they’re also a tricky format to get right. 

Work with the wrong manufacturer? You’ll end up wrestling with leaky pouches, unstable formulas, separation issues, and flavors that don’t quite work.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through why consumers love liquid sachets, which products work best in this format, and the manufacturing requirements to keep in mind when choosing a partner.

TL;DR

• Consumer Appeal: Liquid sachets provide a high-end, innovative look that stands out among consumers. Brands can incorporate custom shapes and designs to differentiate themselves on the shelf (81% of buyers have tried a product solely due to its packaging).
  
  
• Market Opportunity: First popularized by endurance energy gels, liquid sachets have evolved into applications for liposomal vitamins, liquid nutraceuticals, collagen gel supplements, and more. The market is growing, and there are niches just waiting for the right product.
  
  
• Manufacturing Challenges: We’ve been the “second manufacturer” for quite a few brands. People switched because their first partners couldn’t scale with their success, R&D teams didn’t have the expertise to create stable and tasty formulations, or they didn’t have the right equipment to customize packaging to their needs.
  
  

Vetting Partners: Always verify Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance, experience with similar products, and that facilities are FDA-registered. Additionally, it can be a huge headache to switch partners after your product takes off; before you choose a manufacturer, ensure your partner has the capacity to scale in addition to offering MOQs appropriate to your current growth stage.

What Exactly Are Liquid Sachets?

“Liquid sachets” are small single-serve pouches of liquid or gel product.

The format has been around for decades, with sport energy gels emerging in the 1980s as a convenient, prewrapped, portable way to deliver carbs to endurance athletes. Their success in this market paved the way for broader use in the nutrition and supplement industry. 

Consumers love liquid sachets because they make taking supplements easy, reliable, and lifestyle-friendly. When a product fits well into someone’s routine (rather than being a chore), they’re more likely to keep using it.

Sachets are popular with consumers for other reasons, too:

• Unlike traditional bottle supplements, sachets are easy to carry and deliver the same functional ingredients without the bulk (or need for refrigeration). They absorb in the body faster than pills, provide fast-acting carbs, and since people feel the effects faster, it reinforces the perceived value of a product.
  
  
• Sachet products come pre-dissolved or as a gel, saving mix and prep time for the user. Runners can swallow an energy gel mid-stride, and busy professionals can take a dose at their desk without looking for a glass of water.
  
  
• Convenient pre-portioned sachets remove a common barrier to adherence; users don’t have to remember dosing instructions or carry bulky containers. They can stash them in obvious places as reminders, and the simplicity helps them stick with a daily regimen.
  
  
• Pouches are sealed until use – a big selling point for sensitive formulations like herbal tonics or probiotics – where purity matters. Additionally, they’re sealed with high-barrier films which protect against light and oxygen degradation. 

 They’re popular with brands, too: 

• Since sachets protect product freshness and shelf life – defending actives from light, oxygen, and moisture until the moment of use – they prevent manufacturing and storage headaches.
  
  
• Liquid sachets immediately set brands apart from competitors. Instead of joining a sea of standard pill bottles and bulky containers, you can catch a consumer’s eye with custom full-color graphics, glossy finishes, and personalized branding keyed to your target market. Buyers perceive sachets as more premium, and a well-designed package reinforces the perception that your product is both modern and innovative.
  
  
• Single-serve packets are fantastic for sampling campaigns, free trials, and other promotions. Additionally, they carry online sales advantages; they’re cheap to ship, and a properly sealed and pasteurized product can sit in storage for quite some time. 

Popular Liquid Sachet Products

The format first rose to fame with sports energy gels, but today, they span a wide array of nutrition, wellness, and personal care products. 

Endurance energy gels for athletes. Perhaps the most iconic use, this format is great for on-the-go performance enhancement. 

Liposomal vitamin supplements for the wellness minded. This premium-priced category is growing quickly, providing on-the-go versions of vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, CBD, and other herbal extracts.

Liquid nutraceutical shots are replacing their bulky bottled counterparts. Think immunity shots, detox tonics, and pre-workout boosters: consumers are moving from 16 oz bottles to 1-2 oz shots because these often strong-tasting liquids are much more palatable in a quick gulp than an entire bottle.

Collagen gel packs and beauty jellies benefit from the convenient format, allowing consumers to take them daily for skin and hair benefits wherever they may be.

Medicinal gels and oral liquids are moving sachets from pure supplement products into traditional over-the-counter medicines. They’re specialized, but seeing application in single-dose medicines, high-calorie gel packs for patients who need compact nutrition, and pediatric electrolyte freezer pops for children. 

What to Know When Working With a Liquid Sachet Manufacturer 

If you’re planning to use a liquid sachet for your product, it’s crucial to choose the right manufacturing partner. Liquid sachets are a specialized capability, and not every manufacturer can do it – and remember: you NEVER want to be somebody’s experiment. 

Here are the key factors to consider:

• Quality and Compliance First: These are non-negotiables. Liquid products are more challenging to produce consistently than solid doses, so you want a partner with a good track record. Anyone you consider must be current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) certified, run an FDA-registered facility, provide Certificates of Analysis for every lot (verifying product is potent, free of contaminants, and passes other health and safety checks), and pass inspections from reputable third-party organizations such as NSF International or UL Solutions.
  
  
• Specialized Expertise and Equipment: Not all sachets are alike. Flat 4- seal? Spouted pouches? Stick packs? Each requires specific tooling, and switching formats is not trivial. When talking to prospective manufacturers, make sure they can produce the type and size of sachet you’re envisioning. Additionally, a partner with flexibility is important as well – if you choose to expand your offerings down the line, having multiple configurations to choose from (for example, 10 mL tear-tops or 50 mL spouted pouches) can save you from outgrowing their capabilities.
  
  
• Capacity and Scalability: A common frustration among brand owners is their first manufacturer can’t handle their needs as they grow. Perhaps they chose a shop that offered a low MOQ, but once their product took off, they discovered their partner couldn’t keep up with growing demand. Choose a manufacturer who can serve your needs in the moment, as well as into the future.
  
  
• Food Science Expertise: Formulations, stability, and flavor are hard to get right. That’s why it’s so important to find a partner who’s already familiar with the type of product you want to create. Unlike dry powders, liquids interact with packaging and degrade over time in tricky ways, impacting flavor, potency, and customer experience. Experience is paramount. 

Your Next Move

Liquid sachets are an innovative packaging solution that can differentiate you from competitors and resonate with consumers who appreciate the premium feel and convenience of the format. 
However, success relies on partnering with a manufacturer who can navigate the quality control and technical nuances of liquid production. The upfront due diligence can take time, but you’ll be rewarded with a standout product that delights customers. 

When the time is right – reach out for a free consultation. We’ll walk through your needs, goals, costs, send samples, and provide a no-pressure roadmap developed by a liquid supplement manufacturing team that’s been there.

Ben Steuart — CEO & Owner, Steuart Nutrition

Ben Steuart is the co-founder and CEO of Steuart Nutrition, a contract manufacturing and supplement innovation partner for powder, liquid, and stick‑pack supplements. He launched the company in 2019 alongside his wife, Sarah, building on his lifelong roots in the food production industry, where he grew up working in his father's food-manufacturing business in Mabel, Minnesota.

Throughout his career, Ben has developed deep expertise in supplement manufacturing and business operations. At Steuart, he leads with a commitment to lean operations, fostering long-term partnerships, and delivering flexible, transparent service—prioritizing the client’s vision as much as his own. His leadership guided the business’s rapid expansion from a single facility to multiple locations, enabling agile responses to market needs—from producing hand sanitizer during the COVID‑19 pandemic to scaling CBD and nutrition supplement lines.